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Monday, June 28, 2010

Supreme Court speakin' sense

Today the Supreme Court ruled in favor of McDonald in McDonald vs. Chicago, expanding its Heller ruling to encompass the fifty states. It should be noted that it did not 'explicitly strike down Chicago's laws but instructed the federal appeals court that upheld them to review its ruling. Scott over at MacBourne's Musings gets the kudos for being the first blogger I follow to post the good news. I still won't be able to carry in Illinois because they don't have reciprocity with my state, but it'll be interesting to see what happens to gun violence stats against regular citizens once this all shakes out.

Something that might not get as much attention is the ruling for the University of California's Hastings School of Law against a Christian group that was suing for official recognition by the University (and the student affairs money that comes with it) even though the group does not adhere to the University's non-discrimination policy (this group has their members sign something about being sexual immoral--including being gay,--is against Christian beliefs). The Supremes ruled in another 5-4 decision that the group's First Amendment rights were not hampered by lack of official recognition by the School of Law.

I have to say that I'm in agreement with this ruling. The group wanted an exemption to the rules made by the University and the School of Law which says that an officially recognized group has to have 'no discrimination based on religious belief or sexual orientation'. If you want the money, you gotta accept those rules. Otherwise, suck it up. It's the same with a lot of things. If I want a loan, I read the contract and agree to abide by what's laid out in that document or I don't. Which means I don't get the money, but then I'm not bound by something that is inimical to my personal beliefs. Free speech is just that, free. If you accept money, then you're just the piper and whoever's paying gets to call the tune. It's that simple.